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is a TDI company representative.

It looks like the TDI KRISS Super-V XSMG .45 ACP submachine gun (SMG), which DefenseReview (DefRev) has been writing about for some time, is going to be hitting the market by early next year. “We’re gearing up for production, and we should be selling the weapons by first quarter of 2008,” said Andrew Finn, Senior Vice President of Transformational Defense Industries (TDI), when we spoke with him earlier today by phone.

The KRISS has generated a lot of interest ever since we and other publications began writing about it a couple of years ago, and that interest was augmented when…

Our experience with the KRISS Super V XSMG demonstration prototype weapon was positive. We put several magazines through the weapon without any failures (stoppages or malfunctions). We also found the weapon to be controllable and combat-accurate on full-auto during off-hand shooting, even though the cyclic rate/rate-of-fire (ROF) was relatively fast at approx. 1100 RPM (Rounds Per Minute).

Mr. Finn told us today that the cyclic rate of current KRISS prototypes is approx. 800 RPM, and they’ve already been able to get it even lower to around 700 RPM. When we asked Mr. Finn if they could get the cyclic rate down even lower to the 600-650 RPM range, he replied that they should be able to do that. DefenseReview didn’t fire the the KRISS from a bench-rest during our session, so we don’t currently know the level of accuracy of which the test weapon was truly capable.

While the current magazine capacity is 13 rounds, TDI is developing a 30-round box magazine for the KRISS, and has already built a number of functional prototype polymer-based mags. If TDI can develop a 45-50-shot box mag for the KRISS, they’ll have a
true 21st-century Thompson submachine gun on their hands. Of course, a
high-capacity magazine of this nature would add to weapon’s loaded
weight, but the KRISS should theoretically still be light enough to
handle tactically, even with the additional weight.

Mr. Finn told DefRev that a semi-auto-only / civvy-legal version of the KRISS will also be produced and offered to the public next year. Needless to say, we’re very interested to see that.

According to Mr. Finn, weapon weight is currently a little over five (5) pounds empty, but the TDI team intends to get that weight down to slighly under five pounds.

The TDI KRISS Super V XSMG subgun is an interesting tactical firearm to say the least, and should give Mil/LE tactical operators a viable choice vs. the Heckler & Koch (HK) UMP45 (a.k.a. HK UMP 45) .45 ACP subgun, once it goes into production, provided the new 30-shot box mag and the weapon itself are totally reliable under adverse environmental/combat conditions and high round count, and the weapon proves to be combat-accurate. If they accomplish that, the KRISS will be tough to beat in the .45 ACP subgun market. TDI did its homework and designed the weapon around the need of Mil/LE tactical operators, particularly with regards to ergonomics and external control layout.

DefenseReview likes the .45 ACP subgun concept for urban warfare / Direct Action missions, since very few tactical firearms can put a man down as quickly as a .45 Cal. SMG at extreme CQB/CQC (Close Quarters Battle / Close Quarters Combat) ranges. Even if a subject is wearing NIJ Level IIIA body armor that can prevent the .45 ACP rounds from penetrating into the body, the effect of the multiple impacts from a quick burst (let’s say three rounds, for example) should still theoretically be enough to put the BG (Bad Guy) down, since he would be absorbing close to the full energy of the rounds, as the vest would be stopping the rounds completely. Then again, if the operator is utilizing Le Mas BMT APLP 85gr .45 CQB .45 ACP submachine gun ammo, the bad guy’s going to be SOL (Shit Out of Luck), as the LeMas round can penetrate NIJ Level IIIA body armor. While speaking with Mr. Finn, today, I suggested that he test the Le Mas .45 ACP subgun ammo through the KRISS, and make sure that th KRISS can function reliably with it on full-auto.

By the way, Defense Review actually conducted a 40-minute interview with Mr. Finn, today, and we may transcribe it for a future article on the KRISS. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the photos, which we took at NDIA Small Arms Symposium 2007.

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.